Furniture-caster



C. BRINTON. Furniture Caster.

No. 228,977. Patented June l22, 1880.

@f6-JW@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALEB BRINTON, OF CHICAGO7 ILLINOIS.

i FURNITURE-CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,977, dated June 22, 1880. Application filed August 4, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CALEB BRINTON, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in llurniture-Casters and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The invention herein set forth relates, primarily, to a stationary pintle for a furnitureeaster, and, seeondarily, to the construction of the horn of a caster having an anti-friction roller. Y

The principal objects of the invention as related to the former is to provide a pintle cheap in construction, adapted to lit holes differing somewhat in size, easily applied by driving` its shank into the furniture-leg, secure when so applied, and, though driven, not calculated to split the leg in `the act of driving.

To these ends the invention consists in making the shank of sectionally-polygonal form, preferably square, and either twisted or plain.

Various modifications of the square-shanked pintle are illustrated in the several gures of the drawings, wherein it is designated as a whole by the letter P, s being the square portion or shank;I and r the eylindric portion, forming the pintle proper or pivot upon which the horn H turns.

As a modification, Figures l, 2, and 4 show the pintle P formed by squaring a round rod, of which the part r represents the original size. This form gives the upwardly-directed shoulder d, on which the plate D rests, said plate having a square hole cut therein, as, shown by the full lines in Fig. 5, and being dropped over the square part into the position shown. The head h having been previously formed, the horn is first put on, and then the plate D, which may, if desired, be secured permanently in place by indenting the corners of the square shank just above the plate, by forcing it into place, the shank being tapered for the purpose, or in any other suitable manner. The part r should be somewhat longer than the depth of the horn, so that in driving the shank into the wood the plate D may be driven snug upon the wood without binding the' horn.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the pintle P formedfrom an originally square rod of the size of the part s, the part r being turned off to the diameter of the square. In this case the plate D has a round hole, (indicated by the dotted lines, Fig. 5,) and rises against the downwardly-directed shoulder d of this construction. rlhe head lt is formed after the plate D and the horn have been applied, and to secure the effeetof the upwardly-directed shoulder d, previously described, in driving the shank rmly home, the sleeve n is introduced, as shown in Fig. 7, being a little longer than the depth of the horn-bearing. This sleeve forms a stop to the plate D equivalent to the upwardly-directed shoulder d, and permits the same to be driven snug against the wood wit-hout care to prevent binding upon the horn. Tofacilitate the formation of the head h in this construetion the small washer w may be applied beneath the same, as also shown in Fig. 7

While the plain square shank driven into a round hole of proper size will obviously make a very secure fastening for the caster, not only clinging firmly to the wood, but also being free from tendency to turn therein, and thus to become loose, as is common with a round smooth pin or with a screw, the hold of the shank upon the wood will be materially increased by giving the shank s the twistedforni indicated in Figs. 2 and 4L. In the case ofthe upward shoulder, d, the plate D is previously dropped into place upon said shoulder, and, being punctured to properly iit the shank, will be secured firmly in place by the operation of twisting the shank. When this is done the pintle may be held while being twisted by grasping the plate D, or the round portion r may be left free for this purpose and the horn H applied, and the head L made after the twisting is done and the plate D secured.

The twist is not intended to be such as to give the pintle at all the character of a screw in its mode of application to the furniture, the purpose being to drive the twisted sh ank home by direct blows, precisely as the plain shank is driven 5 but it is intended to obtain in the twist, as in the plain shank, the clinging effect and IOC) the freedom from tendency to turn or split generally peculiar to a square pin in a round hole, While also obtaining in some degree the advantage of traversing the grain, which diminishes the tendency to split and gives firmer hold upon the wood.

In the foregoing description a wroughtiron pintle, P, is contemplated 5 butit maybe either Wrought or cast, and, if cast, either malleable or not, according to the necessity growing out of its size. If the pintle is wrought, the plate D will be separate, and may be either wrought or cast. If thepintle is cast, the plate D may be cast in the same piece with it. Obviously other angular forms of shank, as a triangular shank, lwould be the equivalent of the square one described.

My improvement in the horn relates to that class of casters in .which an anti-friction roller is applied between the horn and the fixed plate D. Figs. 2 and 3 represent this style of caster having my improvements. It is desirable that this form of easter shall be made with the utmost regard at once to economy, strength, and freedom of motion in the moving parts.

My improvements therefore consist in casting the horn with the elevated front arch, B, continuous with the bridge of the horn, having the slot a', for the outer trunnion-hearin g of the roller F, on its inner face only, and giving an unbroken front,rising nearly to the top of said roller. The arch B therefore forms a vertical iian ge of the bridge, which, While requiring little or no more metal than is abstracted by the slot b, by the special disposition of metal therein, adds much more to the strength ofthe bridge than said slot detracts therefrom. With the same general purpose in view, the slot a, for the inner trunnion-bearin g of roller F, does not eX- tend to the pintle, but the meta-l of the horn wholly embraces the pintle in ample strength, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In this construction a freer movement ofthe roller F is obtained, because the trunnions of the roller have end bearings, which prevent contact of the roller itself with the walls of the slot in which it runs. In the ordinary construction this difficulty constantly occurs, and results in setting the roller and wearing it out of round, thus, after a little use, wholly preventingits action.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The square pintle P, having the shoulder d and cylindrical part r, combined with a separately-made plate, D, i, resting against said shoulder and confined thereon.

2. The pintle P, having the shoulder d and cylindrical part r, combined with the plate D, restin g against said shoulder, and the sleeve u, which surrounds said part 1^, and is secured thereon, together with the plate D,by riveting the end of said part 1', as set forth,the effect of said sleeve being to secure a bearing for the horn which cannot be cramped by the riveting which unites the several parts ofthe caster.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OALEB BRINTON.

Witnesses:

W. C. ADAMS, JESSE GoXLJ r. 

